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How Trakz became a real lifesaver for our family

29th October 2018

Trakz founder Tom developed the pet collar with GPS capabilities to help his family, particularly his diabetic daughter and her adventurous lhasa apso. Here’s the story of how Trakz began:

They’re more than just best friends

Like millions of people in the UK, Tom loves having canine companions.

“I’ve always had dogs. They're more than just best friends, they're part of the family,” he says. “A few years ago I found out from personal experience that they can also be little helpers too.”

An unexpected diagnosis

“My daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was 7. That diagnosis meant that she had to regularly monitor her blood sugar, which is not exactly the most exciting task for a seven year old.

“It meant that day-to-day living was going to be more difficult for her. Obviously, our family wanted to do as much as possible to make things comfortable for her.”

Finding a little help from our furry friends

But there was good news. Tom had come across an idea that was sure to cheer her up - Hypo Alert Dogs.

Hypo Alert Dogs are specially trained to use their super sense of smell to spot changes in their owners blood glucose levels, and let them know when it’s too low or high. Some can even fetch their owner’s glucose testing kit too!

After scouting through multiple canine candidates, they choose a cute Lhasa Apso named Pip to join the family as she was small and cuddly enough to look after easily.

Or so they thought...

A little helper with a little problem

Although Pip was a very well trained sniffer, she was also a very good runner too.

“Pip loved walkies, sometimes even without us. Whenever there was an opportunity to go exploring she would go.”

Any pet owner will know what that’s like - hours of searching and shouting their name, bothering neighbours, worrying if they’ll ever come back.

Tom soon realised that Pip’s curiosity was relentless. She was part of the family, and their to help his daughter, but something had to be done.

Time for some technical assistance

Soon Tom had found the perfect solution inspired by experience of working in commercial insurance.

“Insurers use advanced telematics technologies to track where vehicles are. I realised that we could simply use the same tech to keep track of our mischievous mutt.”

So, motivated by the love of his whole family - including the Pip - Tom used his experience to develop Trakz. It’s an advanced piece of technology that fits comfortably around the neck of any dog or cat. In other words - a collar.

High-tech help with the lost pet hunt

A Trakz collar is a simple and highly accurate way of keeping tabs on your tabby and keeping check of your canine.

By using high sophisticated GPS technology you can find out wherever they are, wherever you are - even while you’re abroad. There’s many features including the option to set up alerts for your friends and family, so they can help with the search party.

Tom currently finds it very useful, especially for the most recent addition to the family - an energetic border collie called Meg.

“I was able to develop this to help my family - it’s a real lifesaver. But I’m glad that I can now help many other families too, especially ones with a curious cat or a mischievous dog like ours.”

If you'd like the same peace of mind as Tom, sign-up the Trakz newsletter and you'll receive a £30 discount voucher for Trakz.